Cairo, July 3 (FN Agency) Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Tuesday the launch of a new tourist project in the country’s North Coast on the Mediterranean Sea with an investment of 1 trillion Egyptian pounds (20.76 billion U.S. dollars). The new project is expected to generate 1.6 trillion Egyptian pounds in sales and 1.6 million direct job opportunities through construction-related industries, according to a statement by the Egyptian cabinet. The South Med project, which is going to be carried out in partnership with the private sector, integrates with the projects implemented and being implemented in this promising area to achieve the goals that include doubling the current number of tourists by 2030, Madbouly told a press conference in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. “We are keen to make the North Coast of Egypt a destination that is focused on by various state agencies to maximize the tourism sector and provide a large number of hotel and tourist rooms in this area,” Madbouly said.
Madbouly said the state seeks to provide more job opportunities for young people in North Coast to encourage and attract many of them to reside in the area through the implementation of a large and integrated group of projects, including New Alamein City. Madbouly said the government expects that this project, along with other mega projects being implemented in New Alamein City, will attract people to reside and foreign tourists to visit.In February, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a deal to build a new city on Egypt’s North Coast to boost tourism, investment and foreign currency reserves. The tourism sector is one of the main sources of foreign currency for Egypt, contributing about 12 percent to the GDP and providing jobs for around 3 million people.